BMO's Innovative, Inclusive Workforce Development Program BMORE Expands to Western U.S. to Support Progress of Underserved Communities

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Dec 07, 2023, 08:00 ET

BMORE recruits, trains, and places individuals from historically underserved communities into financial services careers.
The program has expanded to Phoenix and will launch in Southern California in 2024 following successful rollouts in Chicago, Milwaukee, and Madison, Wis.
The expansion comes as BMO is recognized by Austin Coming Together's 2023 ACT Membership Awards for "Excellence in Living Wage Careers".

PHOENIX, Dec. 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - BMO today announced the expansion of BMORE, the bank's innovative, inclusive workforce development program that removes barriers to employment and increases access to careers in banking and finance to support the progress of historically underserved communities. BMORE is now available in Phoenix and will launch in Southern California in mid-2024, joining Chicago, Milwaukee, and Madison, Wis.

"BMORE is about connecting with our local communities to develop a pipeline of diverse talent and pathways to better-paying careers within the banking and financial services industry," said Carolyn Booth, Head of U.S. Distribution for U.S. Personal and Business Banking at BMO. "Not only is BMO opening up new doors to those in historically undeserved communities, but through our BMORE hires, we are also able to build deeper relationships with our customers to help them make real financial progress."

BMO launched BMORE three years ago in partnership with its Chicago partner for the program, Cara Collective, a workforce development organization dedicated to eradicating relational and financial poverty. Since then, 102 associate bankers have been hired through BMORE across Chicago, Milwaukee, and Madison. The program recruits job seekers with transferable skills and experience beyond banking, and once hired, provides intentional onboarding and ongoing mentorship. To date, $500,000 has been invested by BMO in Cara Collective to recruit, train, and retain job seekers.

"BMO's BMORE program exemplifies how we are living out our Purpose, to Boldy Grow the Good in business and life," said Bernard Narine, Regional President and Head of Retail Banking, U.S. Southern Region at BMO. "We are thrilled to welcome the program to the broad talent pool in Arizona and I look forward to continue growing the program across our footprint."

BMORE receives Austin Coming Together's "Excellence in Living Wage Careers" award

BMO and Cara Collective also recently received Austin Coming Together's (ACT) "Excellence in Living Wage Careers" award for BMORE's work to attract talent from under-resourced communities like Chicago's Austin neighborhood.

ACT is a membership-based community organization that focuses on improving Austin by focusing on early childhood, youth, workforce, and infrastructure issues. It also offers assistance for housing, employment, internet service, and utilities for residents. Each year, the organization recognizes companies and individuals making significant contributions to advancing its mission of creating conditions for a thriving Austin.

"Building strong partnerships with employers and organizations are crucial to the success of programs like BMORE," said Kathleen St. Louis Caliento, President & CEO for Cara Collective. "Three years in, we are so inspired by the success of BMORE and how it is creating access and opportunity to careers in the financial industry across the country. Our hope is that BMORE will continue to thrive in new markets and inspire other companies to realize the incredible untapped talent in our communities."

To learn more about how BMO and Cara Collective created BMORE, click here to read a case study about the program.

About Cara Collective
Collective seeks to fuel a courageous national movement to eradiate relational and financial poverty. Through our four entities – Cara, Cleanslate, Cara Connects, and Cara Plus – we engage job seekers, employers, and other organizations across the country to break the cycle of poverty through the power and purpose of employment. Since 1991, we've helped more than 8,500 people get placed into more than 14,500 jobs and get started on their path to real and lasting success. Click here to learn more.

About BMO Financial Group
BMO Financial Group is the eighth largest bank in North America by assets, with total assets of $1.3 trillion as of Oct. 31, 2023. Serving customers for 200 years and counting, BMO is a diverse team of highly engaged employees providing a broad range of personal and commercial banking, wealth management, global markets and investment banking products and services to 13 million customers across Canada, the United States, and in select markets globally. Driven by a single purpose, to Boldly Grow the Good in business and life, BMO is committed to driving positive change in the world, and making progress for a thriving economy, sustainable future, and inclusive society.

Media Contact:
Lucas Seiler
[email protected]; 312-340-8576

SOURCE BMO Financial Group